Unexpectedly
by br0kensilver
Summary: When I unexpectedly trip into a different world I didn't expect there to be a temperamental, prissy prince with his old sweet uncle tracking down a twelve year old kid with weird blue tattoos. But hey, weirder things have not happened before. ZukoxOC.
1. Chapter 1

I was walking to school, the brisk air of winter numbing my face and tearing my eyes up.

I shoved my cold hands in the warm pockets of my green parka after readjusting my hat. I had stolen it from my older brother this morning before I left the house so it fitted loose on my head, the puffy ball hanging off the end of it added to the struggle of attempting to keep it from falling off.

I impatiently let out a heavy sigh as I watched the light change colors.  
After 2 freezing minutes of standing like an idiot waiting for the light to change it finally did.

And of course being me, I had to trip on the sidewalk because the world hates me.

I small shrill escaped my tongue as I went tumbling down, but to my surprise instead of landing on the cold icy concrete I landed on something awfully soft and warm.

My eyes widened in horror as I felt something shift underneath me and I finally gathered my thoughts enough to realize I had just landed on a freaking person.

"Prince Zuko!" a male voice shouted from somewhere behind me in shock.

Before I could stand up and apologize for my stupidity I felt several hands roughly pull me from the floor- I mean person.  
"Hey!" I struggled from their grip as both my arms were placed behind my back and two other pair of hands held down each of my shoulders to restrain my movement.

The man I had fallen on had already gotten up from the ground and was now facing me.

The first thing I noticed was that he wasn't a man at all but a teenager around my age.  
The second thing I noticed was how weird his god damn hair was. The only hair he even had was tied up in a pony tail, the rest of his head was bald. I couldn't even imagine how stupid he would look if he let it down.  
The third thing I noticed was a rather large scar that covered his entire left eye.

"Who the hell are you?!"

And the last thing I managed to notice was that he had a bit of a temperamental problem gathering from the way his golden eyes glared down on me and his face turned a shade of red- somewhere between anger and embarrassment.

And that was how my day started out. Struggling against the violent grip of armed men and having a stare down with a teenager with anger issues.

* * *

After 'dropping by' a few minutes ago I was escorted inside the ship. Or more like forced inside the ship.

You should of seen my face when I noticed that I was on a giant metal boat in the middle of the ocean. The men had to belly flop on top of me because they thought I was gonna jump. But I actually wanted to see if we were actually surrounded by water and it wasn't a figment of my imagination. And as I remember looking down the massive ship to the cold arctic waters I thought to myself-

_I'm fucked._

So here I am, my hands tied to the arms of the rather uncomfortable chair I was currently sitting on. Waiting for someone to open the goddamn door of the metal room I was locked up in.

A large table filled most of the space which on top rested a nice steaming cup of tea, which I found rather hysterical because my hands were tied up so it was impossible to accept the drink. Not that I would of anyways because I hate tea.

My mental pleas were met when the door slammed opened.

It was the dude I had accidentally fallen on. From what I had gathered his name was Zuko. And the crew of the ship called him prince Zuko. Although the only streak of royal blood he has was being a royal pain in my ass.  
Behind him trailed an old man with a large belly who gave me a warm smile and gently closed the door unlike his younger companion who had violently opened it.

"Zuko this is no way to treat a lady." the old man spoke, stroking his white beard. "All tied up like this. Tsk, you should know better nephew."

So this guy was scar face's uncle.

"Lady?! She attacked me!" Zuko cried out in frustration, his voice cracking. I guess puberty really sucks when you're a guy.

"I _fell_ on you." I corrected.

Zuko ignored my interjection and slammed something on the table.  
"What's this?" He snarled.

I blinked at his question. I then shifted my stare from him to the object on the table to him again.

"Its a book bag" I said slowly.

His eye twitched. "Are you talking back to me?"

"Well duh. That's kinda how communication works"

Both his hands slammed on the table and he leaned in towards my face. Golden eyes met my hazel ones.  
I could almost feel the sparks that flew between us. And I'm not talking about the romantic kind. I'm talking about the pure hatred kind.

"I was referring what is inside your bag" and with that statement he dropped all my belongings that were inside said bag onto the table.

"Hey! That's my stuff!" I yelled, struggling free.

He ignored my angry outburst and picked up the bottle of Arizona that was now half filled since I drank most of it on my way to school.

"What is this? Poison?" He demanded, skeptically eyeing the bottle. I sighed as I watched him examine the plastic object in different angles.

"Oh no. You figured out my plan of poising you with a bottle of Arizona" I said dryly.

Before he could retort I spoke again, this time with a more serious tone. "It's not poison. It's juice. A drinking beverage. Can't you read the label?"

At that comment he squinted down at the drink and read out loud. "Ice Tea?"

"Tea?! What kind of tea comes like that!"

Zuko glared at his uncle as the older man snatched the bottle from his hands and squinted at it.  
"It's not even warm! How can you drink cold tea!" The old man asked in mortification.

"It's suppose to be cold. That's why it's called ice tea" I tiredly explained.

"Oh! How distasteful!" He said dramatically, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Uncle! This isn't time for your stupid tea obsession."

"But Zuko, she just said she drinks cold tea!"

Funny how he can make that sentence sound like I had just drank the blood of my first born child.  
I watched for a few minutes as nephew and uncle bickered with each other back and forth.

"Can I leave now?" I asked weary trying to hide the fact that I was freaking out in the inside.  
I'm 15, in a weird ship in the middle of the god damn ocean surrounded by people who have never heard of ice tea.

"If you aren't here to poison me then why are you here? How did you get here?" Zuko barked at me after his argument with his uncle.

"I don't even want to be here and all I remember is that I just fell while crossing the street and next thing I know I'm being ambushed by your stupid soldiers!"

"Well you wouldn't have been ambushed if you hadn't fallen on me!"

"Maybe I wouldn't have fallen on you if you would have gotten out of my way!"

His only response was a frustrated yell and his hand slammed down the table. He threw a fist in the air towards the door and a stream of fire emitted from his clenched hand, an irritated yelp to add on to his frustration.

I screamed.

They both stared.

And I screamed again.

"What the hell are you?! A freaking x-men mutant or something! You just shot fire from your fist!" I yelled, my eyes wide and glancing between the two men for an answer.

They gave each other muddled expressions.

"What are you talking about? I'm a fire bender." Zuko spoke hesitantly as if he was questioning my sanity.

"Fire bender? Yeah and I graduated from Hogwarts" I rolled my eyes.

"Do you not know what a fire bender is?" The old man who I had figured was named Iroh from zuko's previous argument with him.

"No!" I shouted obviously, trying to make hand gestures to exaggerate the word but I couldn't since they were still tied.

"Where did you say you were from again?" He prodded.

"I didn't" I glare from Zuko made me add to my response. "New York."

"I've never heard of that place before. Where is it?" Iroh asked curiously.

Oh. My. God.  
I tried to control my sarcasm.

"In the United States."

One look at their faces told me I had to be more specific.

"Freaking North America!" I exclaimed helplessly.

"I'm afraid those names do not exist" Iroh said suspiciously.

"You're lying." Zuko quickly accused.

The familiar glint of anger flashed in his golden eyes and I gulped loudly.

"I'm not I swear!" I yelled and I felt my eyes become moist and my face becoming hot. "I just want to go home!" I cried, tears inevitably streaming down my face. I sniffed loudly and looked down embarrassed. My nose was pouring, my eyes were red, and my face was wet.

"... Me too"

I slightly looked up at Zuko. He had spoken so softly that I barely caught what he had said. A distant look appeared on his face and his features soften. His eyes weren't on me but on the metal table.

Any ounce of sympathy I had on him was demolished when he snapped out of whatever daze he was in and gave me a stern, cold stare.

"Guards, lock her up in a cell." He ordered.

My eyes widened as the door opened and Zuko walked out, Iroh tailed behind him after giving me on last pitying glance. Two guards quickly entered at the loss of their presence.

"From now on, you are my prisoner" Zuko stood behind the doorway and watched the guards unbind my hands.

I gave him the harshest glare I could muster and sustained it as he turned around and walked away from view.

**This is my first story and I would really appreciate all the support and criticism you all may have. If there are any errors or suggestions please tell me and I would gladly try to fix it! This story will be pretty slow progress between my OC and Zuko. So please enjoy it and comment!**


	2. Chapter 2

I haven't seen Zuko or Iroh since that jerk locked me up in a cell, which was two days ago.

And to my horror this cell contained no god damn electricity. No lights, no lamps, no outlets. All I had was a candle to light the dark and keep me warm at night.

You should of seen the look on the guards faces when I asked them where the light switch was on my first night.  
Other than standing outside my door for safety precautions they weren't much useful.

Zuko was _sweet_ enough to give me back my belongings, declaring that they didn't pose any danger to him or his mission, which I found that Iroh had something to do with his oh so kind decision.

The only furniture the cell contained was a small bed at the corner and a metal desk and chair on the opposite wall. A flag of some sort of fire symbol decorated the empty wall above the bed- which wasn't much of a bed but a thin mattress on the floor.

My book bag was sprawled on the sleeping mat. I was so bored I had actually began studying.

My phone had died the night before in a middle of a very serious game of temple run. I was a second away from beating my high score.

The ship didn't have any wifi or even service. Big surprise since we were in the middle of the ocean.

I was just getting to the part of my notes about the French Revolution when the door creaked opened.

I boredly looked up from my reading to find a soldier standing awkwardly on the door way.

"Prince Zuko has allowed movement around the ship as long as you are supervised." The soldier said sternly.

"Oh how _thoughtful_"

I stretched from my bed and followed the soldier outside, trying to mask my giddy excitement of finally leaving that awful room.

I squinted at the sun as I climbed the ladder to the deck of the ship. Once my eyes adjusted themselves to the amount of light outside, I looked around the large flat platform.

A few soldiers were there, talking quietly among themselves and some even laughing. They all wore the same strange uniform; heavy metal armor and a helmet.

I shredded off my hoodie, leaving me in my loose white shirt and black jeans. On my feet were my ratty old converse I wore pretty much everyday.

My cell was a lot cooler than it was outside, so I leaned my head back and just absorbed that sun for a little while.

I heard footsteps coming towards me and I popped open my eyes. It was Iroh.

"Beautiful day to enjoy the sun." He pointed out and looked up at the clear sky.

I smiled and nodded my head.

"I never did get your name, little lady." He added softly.

After a few seconds of a mental debate I decided that he was a kind hearted man with good intentions. Obviously nothing like his nephew.

"It's Naomi" I finally introduced myself.

"And you can call me Iroh, Naomi" he tested out my name.

There was a small comforting silence before the old man spoke again. "You're not from around here, are you?"

I sheepishly shuck my head and stared down at me feet. "No. We don't have fire benders or whatever you people call yourselves in my world"

Iroh hummed in response, stroking his white beard in thought. A few seconds later he looked down at me with a big cheesy smile and laughed.

"Well I guess, Niomi, your destiny is now intertwined with ours" he said gleefully.

I laughed softly and looked around the ship for a brief second, "I guess so, Iroh"

The old man offered to sit down and have a cup of tea with him which I kindly said yes to.

Iroh explained the concept of benders and how they could bend on of the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air.  
I listened attentively as Iroh explained the entire history of his world.

It was pretty amusing from a another person's perspective-

A sixteen year old girl sitting crossed legged on the mat sprawled on the floor, making surprised sound effects louder than necessary. My eyes were probably wide and the chances of me looking like a 5 year old were pretty high.

"Lesson over." Iroh joked, a gleeful smile on his face.

My mouth was probably hanging opened but I didn't care because my brain was still absorbing all the new information.

"Zuko, why don't you join us for some tea?"

My mind quickly absorbed _that_ information.

I hadn't noticed the capricious prince lurking by us as Iroh babbled stories.

I quickly glared at the prince, quickly assuming that he would do the same.

I was not disappointed.

"I don't have time for tea, uncle! I need to find the avatar!" He snarked at the older man.

Iroh sipped his tea while I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you so obsessed with capturing the avatar? Isn't he suppose to be bringing balance to the world or something?" I asked, irritated at his presence.

His eyebrows rose in slight shock at my new found knowledge and I couldn't stop the cocky smirk from appearing on my face.

"That's right, prince hot-head, I know my stuff" at that I jabbed my thumb to my chest triumphantly.

"My chase for the avatar is none of your concern, peasant" he spat out.

I quickly stood up from the mat and glared up at him, mentally cursing my 5'0 ft height. He was basically towering over me.

"Who pissed in your cereal?" I growled and glared at him.

"You should watch your tongue in front of a prince. You're my prisoner and don't you forget that" he bit back, staring heatedly down at me.

There was an intense moment of silence as I came up with something to say.

"Is it getting hot in here?" Iron quickly intervened, coming between the two of us fanning himself with a fan he had pulled out of his sleeve nervously.

"It's probably coming from Zuko's empty head of his"

"At least my hair isn't so strangely colored" his eyes glanced down at my burgundy wavy locks.

"At least my face isn't so strangely disfigured!"

I flinched after that sentenced and regretted it as soon as I saw a flicker of hurt in his golden eyes.  
I gulped when noticing Zuko's hands clenching dangerously tight on his sides.

His heavy boot took a step toward me and flinched back, closing my eyes tightly.

A few seconds of dread and misery passed when I finally had the courage to open my eyes to only see the retreating back of the prince walking away from the deck.

I sighed in both relief and redemption.

* * *

I couldn't sleep at all, my mind kept replaying my previous encounter with the prince. My heart filled with guilt all over again.

Letting out a loud dramatic sigh before getting up from the bed, I tippy toeing towards the door.

I opened it and was ready to make a stupid excuse up for the guards but to my astonishment they weren't there.  
I blinked at the empty hallway, half expecting someone to jump out and wrestle me to the floor.

After waiting a few minutes I decided the coast was clear, so I climbed up the metal ladder and made my way to the deck.

It was completely vacant. Everyone must be sleeping or inside the ship.

I was about to retrieve down the ladder to my cell again when I noticed someone was leaning on the side of the boat.

Their back was turned to me, starring out at the sea. But I could recognize that pony tail anywhere.

I played with my fingers awkwardly, gathering up the courage to walk up to Zuko.

I bit my lip as a made my way towards him, finding a comfortable spot that was far enough from him as comfortable but still close enough to hear each other.

"I'm sorry" I spat out.

I saw him give me a quick glance from the corner of my eye.

I played with my fingers again and finally faced him. I straighten my back to appear taller but my short stature would still have to make him look down at me.

"About what I said earlier. It was mean and out of line and I'm sorry. I shouldn't-"

"It doesn't matter" he interrupted, the anger in his usual tone wasn't there.

That made me feel worse.

My shoulders slumped in dejection.

"Yeah it does," I said softly. "No one deserves to be treated like that."

_Not even you_ I bit back.

I stared at him for a long time, waiting for his response.

Mimicking his position, I leaned on the railing. The ocean was a black murky color and the sky was plastered with so many stars.

"Wow. Where I come from the sky never looks like this." I gaped up at the glimmering lights above us.

"Why?"

I slightly jumped at the fact that he had actually spoken.

"We destroyed our world with pollution." I replied.

He hummed in response.

Another silent pause.

"I haven't seen anyone with red hair like mine in the ship." I confessed, twisting strands of my burgundy locks on my index finger. I hadn't had a decent haircut over a year ago, explaining why it reached just above my butt.

"I have not seen anyone with your hair color before." Zuko admitted.

"Really? It's pretty common where I live. Well not _completely_ common. Black hair is the most common. Then there's brown hair- oh and blonde hair. Oh and-" _  
_

"You talk a lot."

I frowned.

"Well I have to since you're such a conversationalist." I responded sarcastically with a smile.

He huffed in response, making me smile wider.

"So why are you so obsessed with hunting the Avatar?"

Silence.

"I might have a brain overload from all that detailed information." I said dryly.

**So here is chapter 2! Naomi has to first interact with Zuko and Iroh before I can follow the show's script. And thank you for those who commented on the first chapter, you really motivated me to continue! **

**The story might be a little slow going at first but that is because Naomi still needs to meet everyone and interact with some characters. But be patient because things will be filled with action and romance soon! ;) **

**Please leave your comments and be free to tell me if I have made any errors! xoxo**


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